Pitchers and catchers report on Wednesday, officially kicking off baseball as we know it in 2013. Phillies fans had grown used to an endless supply of optimism going into every season, but this marks the first spring in a long time in which fans can realistically expect their team to miss the playoffs. This is due to two reasons: the first being the tremendous improvements made by the Washington Nationals and Atlanta Braves — Jayson Stark cites Dan Szymborski’s ZiPS projecting “a decent chance” that the two teams could each win 100 games; and the lackluster off-season the Phillies have had, adding veteran retreads to baseball’s oldest roster.